Caddis fly larvae jewelry

This isn't new material (it was first posted in Cabinet in 2007, via Neatorama), but it was new to me when I encountered it this week.

The images above illustrate the results of an unusual artistic collaboration between the French artist Hubert Duprat and a group of caddis fly larvae. A small winged insect belonging to the order Trichoptera and closely related to the butterfly, caddis flies live near streams and ponds and produce aquatic larvae that protect their developing bodies by manufacturing shea­ths, or cases, spun from silk and incorporating substances—grains of sand, particles of mineral or plant material, bits of fish bone or crustacean shell—readily available in their benthic ecosystem...

After collecting the larvae from their normal environments, he relocates them to his studio where he gently removes their own natural cases and then places them in aquaria that he fills with alternative materials from which they can begin to recreate their protective sheaths. He began with only gold spangles but has since also added the kinds of semi-precious and precious stones (including turquoise, opals, lapis lazuli and coral, as well as pearls, rubies, sapphires, and diamonds) seen here...

Nature of Neptune posted this video of the process in 2008:


I'll echo an old question:  Who is the artist?  Hubert Duprat, or the caddis fly larva?

Related:  a similar structure built by a one-celled animal.

Photos Jean-Luc Fournier.

Addendum: Also (sort of) related, this bejeweled beetle -

- explained, with many links, at Quigley's Cabinet.